The use of so-called "cannons" by professionals to shoot confetti at amusement parks, concerts, and other events has long been enthusiastically enjoyed by audiences. Such cannons are powered by compressed gas tanks, or compressed gas cylinders, which operate at pressures in the order of 600-800 p.s.i., and the cannons are usually in the order of several feet long, with a wall thickness in the order of 1/4 inch and composed of PVC or metal tubing. Accordingly, such systems are expensive, bulky and are not safe in the hands of non-professionals. In addition, cannons which are designed for use with CO.sub.2 cartridges, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,756,737 and 5,149,290 operate on the basis of puncturing the seal on the CO.sub.2 cartridge such that the entire cartridge is suddenly emptied of the high pressure gas in one, uncontrolled and uncontrollable discharge. Such operation not only has obvious safety hazards, but it is also expensive in that each CO.sub.2 cartridge can only provide one shot of confetti from the cannon. Thus, it is not possible to shoot a plurality of small loads of confetti with a single cartridge as is desirable for the professional on stage or the non-professional at relatively small parties and other festive occasions.